The Supreme Court on Thursday struck down affirmative action in college admissions, saying that race cannot be a factor in admissions policies.
The conservative court overturned two cases reaching back 45 years – invalidating admissions plans at Harvard and the University of North Carolina, the nation’s oldest private and public colleges, respectively.
Chief Justice John Roberts said that for too long, universities have “concluded, wrongly, that the touchstone of an individual’s identity is not challenges bested, skills built, or lessons learned but the color of their skin.”
Justice Clarence Thomas laid out his vision for a “colorblind Constitution” in which the law must apply equally to everyone, even when it is aimed at redressing historical racial discrimination.
In essence, the majority opinion of the court came down to affirmative action violating the U.S. Constitution. Specifically, the decision is saying that affirmative action violates the Equal Protection clause of the 14th Amendment and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits racial discrimination in any place that receives federal funding.
The line between equality and equity
Despite all the arguments in favor or against the Supreme Court’s decision, In education, the arguments come down to equality versus equity. But both words are often used interchangeably – however, they are not the same in meaning.
Equality means each individual or group of people is given the same resources and opportunities, regardless of their circumstances. This is spelled out in the Declaration of Independence, being that “all men are created equal.”
In general, however, and especially in the legal context, equality refers to equal treatment—the idea that law and government should treat people the same irrespective of their identity or status.
This is what the framers of the 14th Amendment appear to have meant in the Equal Protection Clause, which states that no state can “deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”
In other words, equality – as a reality in our daily lives – is something that we should all be aware of and happily live, based on the law and our Constitution. But for many Americans – life is not a matter of equality, and most of us know that.
This is where the word equity would be appropriate. Equity recognizes each person has different circumstances and needs, meaning different groups of people need different resources and opportunities allocated to them in order to thrive.
One of the first places where the term, equity, gained ground was in the school funding battles of the 1980s and 1990s. After the US Supreme Court ruled in San Antonio v. Rodriguez that local and state funding formulas that afforded different per-pupil expenditures between districts did not violate the US Constitution.
Advocates of equity in education recognized that in order to have true equality of opportunity in education, in some cases the state or local government would have to spend more on disadvantaged students.
Equity or the lack of equity can be applied to a broad list of issues. For example, a state spends $10,000 per pupil annually to provide an education. But, some students attend highly advantaged school districts with all kinds of extracurricular assets, wealthy parents and donors, and low levels of poverty.
So, in that same state, other students attend highly disadvantaged schools with high levels of student poverty, food insecurity, and fewer extracurricular or community assets. But you say, “Those students are getting the same amount of funding, right?” This proves that simply spending the same amount is unlikely to produce true equality of opportunity.
This example tells us the idea is simple: additional resources or support may be needed to help disadvantaged populations, and this goes beyond the concept of formally equal treatment.
And this is also the basis of affirmative action in higher education. It is already accepted in our society that treating people differently in some circumstances to achieve fairness is the right thing to do.
This is the essence of equity: the recognition that in certain circumstances different treatment may be required to achieve fairness and justice.
Applying equality and equity to Higher education
According to the World Economic Forum’s 2020 Global Social Mobility Index, which compares one generation’s educational and economic level to their parents, the U.S. is ranked 27th in social mobility, behind countries including Denmark (No. 1), France (No. 12), and Singapore (No. 20).
The dream of public education was to elevate the working class, with the idea that universal education could eliminate poverty by preparing students to take on better jobs and move up the social ladder. But the system is not equitable.
The U.S. Department of Education (DoEd) says that the challenge of guaranteeing educational equity has been “formidable.” A DoEd study found that 45% of K-12 high-poverty schools received less state and local funding than other schools in their district. The result? Low-income students and students from minority backgrounds attend and graduate from college at a lower rate than their peers.
The bottom line is that readers need to think about the Supreme Court’s decision in light of the overall failure of our educational system. And remember that this decision is not just about race or racism. It is far bigger a problem.
You might ask yourself – What is important in the scope of getting into a college or university? Does it only need to be based on equality, where everyone has the same equal chance at being accepted?
Or should college admissions be equitable? Just how important are life experiences and economic background in an individual’s ability to make a difference if given the opportunity for a college degree?
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Disclaimer
The opinions expressed in this Op-Ed are those of the author. They do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of the Digital Journal or its members.
